Darren Mougey cooked by waiting to trade Jermaine Johnson in 2026 offseason

New York Jets general manager Darren Mougey did not wait long to make his first big move at the 2026 NFL Combine, as he traded away Jermaine Johnson to the Tennessee Titans to acquire defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat.

Mougey had multiple chances to offload Johnson in the 2025 season, especially at the trade deadline. Teams were willing to part with as much as a third-round pick to get Johnson in the building, but Mougey chose to hold firm and reconsider these moves in the offseason.

The resulting trade landed the Jets a high-impact starter with years of team control. Rather than panicking and taking the best offer that was presented to him, Mougey waited for an offer that ultimately proved to be much better for the franchise.

Darren Mougey's patience helped Jets nail Jermaine Johnson trade

Sweat, just a few years removed from being picked in the second round, graded out as the fifth-best defensive tackle in the league in the eyes of Pro Football Focus. Despite tipping the scales at over 360 pounds, Sweat has shown himself to be capable of holding his own in pass protection.

Sweat was the 19th-best pass rusher at the defensive tackle spot last season. While Sweat has enough juice to be a solid defensive tackle in a four-lineman front, he appears to be coming to New York to line up as a traditional nose tackle at the heart of Aaron Glenn's new-look defense.

Johnson was a solid edge-setter who was a vocal leader in the locker room, but his stock as a playeris littered with red flags. Between the fact that he amassed just 13 sacks in four years as a Jet and looked nothing like the Pro Bowl player after tearing his Achilles, there are concerns as to Johnson's future in the NFL.

Johnson is, at the very least, in a scheme that will give him every opportunity to get back on track. Reunited with both head coach Robert Saleh and defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton, Johnson will be in an attacking defense that will put him in a place of prominence.

Mougey hasn't been able to build a winning team yet, but he has been able to knock out some clear wins in some of his recent trades. Time will tell if adding Sweat and kicking Johnson out will be as much of a slam dunk as some of his other moves were.